Author Notes: In my household, we eat a fair number of potatoes. However, we do find that we end up with a few potatoes that need to be devoured sooner rather than later. Just the other day I was bored and pulled out this mandolin contraption that my hubby purchased and thought, "why not?" Most of us admit to wanting to indulge in a heaping helping of french fries, but the guilt, The Guilt!
Using a mandolin can give you beautifully (and quickly) sliced fries. And roasting them will give you french fries without the guilt. Because I like spices, my Roasted Slap Fries have a few spices mixed in. Of course all of our tastebuds vary so feel free to add more or less or omit altogether any spice or herb listed. In addition, to add the guilt back, I dip these fries in my homemade Srirachannaise sauce: Sriracha hot chili sauce + mayonnaise. Enjoy! - viblanco

Food52 Review: WHO: viblanco is a FOOD52er who loves her Le Creuset braiser.
WHAT: Easy oven fries with a dipping sauce that you'd never guess took seconds to make.
HOW: Roughly sliced potatoes are generously coated in spices before baking into crisp, hard-to-resist fries.
WHY WE LOVE IT: For french fries without a pot of hot oil, we'll be returning to this recipe every time the urge strikes. And the sauce couldn't be simpler -- or more addictive. - The Editors

Serves 4

Roasted Slap Fries

4 medium potatoes, whole yellow or red

4tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for baking sheet

1/2teaspoon chili powder

1teaspoon coriander powder

1teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/2teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4teaspoon mustard powder

1/4teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for after cooking, if desired

Sirachannaise Sauce

2tablespoons mayonnaise

1tablespoon Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Using a mandolin, slice the potatoes into long, thin rectangular pieces to mimic the standard fries shape. If you do not have a mandolin then using a knife to cut the potato into long rectangular pieces.

In a large mixing bowl, add the raw potato pieces, all the spices, salt and 4 tablespoons of the olive oil. Mix well so that the potato pieces are fully covered by the spices.

Grease a large baking sheet olive oil to help keep the potato pieces from sticking while cooking. Pour the contents from the mixing bowl onto the baking sheet and spread out the pieces for an even heating.

Cook for 35 minutes. Be sure to move and rotate the potatoes with a spatula every 10 minutes to avoid too much sticking and burning. Cook for less or more time depending on how crunchy you prefer your fries.

To prepare the Srirachannaise, in a small bowl, combine the Sriracha sauce and mayonnaise. Mix until well blended. Add more or less of the ingredients to suit your taste.

When the fries are ready, sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt, if desired, and eat immediately. Serve with Srirachannaise, ketchup or nothing at all.

:) The name should not be "slab" instead of "slap" fries. I use the word slap intentionally to provide a unique name for my specific recipe. While I could say "Oven-roasted potatoes fries with herbs and spices" or "Spiced, herbed baked fries", "Slap fries" is always how I refer to these. How they became "slap fries" is long story. But, in the end, it's just a name. I hope that helps clear the confusion. Take care!

These were INCREDIBLE. I subbed Aleppo pepper for the chili and wound up baking them for about 50 minutes. When I pulled them out, they were crisp and delicious. Skipped the dipping sauce and served these with homemade burgers for the perfect summer meal. Thanks for a wonderful way to make fries without all the hot oil and mess!

I'm glad you liked the fries! Good idea regarding the salting after baking for additional crispness. With respect to the glass for the dipping sauce, I do not know where it came from since Food52 took that picture. My dipping sauce glass is different. It is a little glass bowl.

I make baked French fries often. Two tricks: 1-use non-stick foil, the fries won't stick and only need one stir or turn half way through. 2-Place the baking sheet on the bottom rack set at the lowest position during the preheat and then bake on the bottom rack for nice crispy fries, great use of the extra heat at in the cellar of the oven.

Congrats on being a finalist! We always use a sriracha mayo for sweet potato fries- especially when serving with steak since you can "accidentally" get the mayo on the steak too which does not suck at all....These sound tasty.